West Eparchy of OCA, DOWOCA.org

MOSCOW CHOIRMASTER VLADIMIR GORBIK TEACHES MASTERCLASS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Eminent Russian conductor and choirmaster Vladimir Gorbik taught a two-day masterclass at St. Katherine Orthodox Church in Carlsbad, CA, on August 21-22, 2022. The event attracted 24 participants – church choir directors and singers from not only San Diego County, but as far away as Los Angeles, Orange County, and Arizona. Just about every Orthodox parish in San Diego was represented, including choir directors from the Antiochian Archdiocese, the Greek Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and the Serbian Archdiocese.Conductors received ample “podium time” during the masterclass, being coached by Mr. Gorbik on repertoire they had prepared. The coaching sessions were recorded on video, giving students additional feedback. Particularly valuable was the opportunity to work with a live ensemble of experienced choir singers – most of them members of the St. Katherine Orthodox Church Choir. In addition, Maestro Gorbik worked with the teen group of St. Katherine parish, coaching them in good singing practices. He also led a coaching session with a dozen church readers, giving them valuable critique and feedback on vocal resonance, diction, and the proper ways of intoning while reading in church.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary since Vladimir Gorbik first began teaching masterclasses and workshops in North America. In 2012 he received a blessing from his mentor and spiritual father, Metropolitan Longin, currently Metropolitan of Simbirsk [Ulyanovsk], to share his knowledge and experience with Orthodox Christians in America. This resulted in a series of masterclasses in numerous locations – at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, St. Tikhon’s Seminary, Holy Trinity Seminary, as well as at parishes in Santa Rosa, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Florida, and the New York-New Jersey area. One of the fortuitous results of his visits and teaching has been a heightened sense of professionalism and excellence among Orthodox church conductors in American churches, which has developed over the past ten years.

In his classes and coaching sessions Gorbik leads by his own example, drawing upon his expertise as a professor of choral and orchestral conducting at the Moscow State Conservatory. Interspersing his focused, high-energy approach to rehearsing and conducting with stories and memorable, often humorous anecdotes, he puts all the participants at ease and inspires them to venture beyond their comfort zone. The positive results are reflected in some students’ comments from the most recent masterclass:
“While it is difficult to be a beginning conductor and stand in front of other musicians and accomplished conductors in such a vulnerable state, the value of the experience is worth the difficulties and hard work. I feel like I improved throughout the weekend, and the guidance during the sessions and the services was extremely helpful. Thank you for those opportunities. I have a long road ahead in gaining skills and knowledge, but I am inspired to keep on the road. Thank you for the help and personalized instruction!”“Thank you for [the conducting class] videos. It’s one thing to have the opportunity to receive these constructive critiques; it’s another to have access to watch them [afterwards].”“Being still somewhat of an infant in choral music, … the opportunity to access the wealth of knowledge that the esteemed Vladimir Gorbik offered was a great blessing. His hands-on approach to helping guide a young conductor like myself gave me the freedom to make mistakes, and make improvements within a very short amount of time. His expertise is unique, and his teaching method is tangible and relatable.”